As well as adding the new search feature to the Gmail application, Google has also updated its core search functionality. When searching Google for a particular term or name, users will be now be offered a mix of results from their Gmail messages and Google Drive files on the right-hand side of the page, as well as the core search results in the middle.

According to Google, it has received positive feedback on the initial trial, which has led the firm to expand it to Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive.

We signed up and were accepted for the original trial back in August, but have seen very little evidence of it in practice. Although we run Google searches on a daily basis, we've seen our Gmail messages returned only once, even though we've run tests searching for specific terms included in our email.

We've signed up for the extended field trial and will report back on the results once we hear we've been accepted.

For those of you keen to try this out for yourselves, the trial is available only in English and for those with @gmail.com addresses.

About the author

Madeline Bennett is editor of V3 and The INQUIRER. Previously, she was editor of IT Week. Prior to becoming a journalist, Madeline was an English teacher at a London secondary school. Madeline is a regular technology commentator on TV and radio, including Sky, BBC and CNN.